[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S113-S114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have been talking all week about the 
ways our historic tax reform law is immediately helping middle-class 
families. It has been less than a month since Congress passed and the 
President signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but already more than 1 
million Americans are on track to receive special bonuses, permanent 
raises, and other benefits, and their employers are attributing these 
changes directly to tax reform.
  In fact, 100,000 employees of American Airlines are each receiving a 
$1,000 tax reform bonus; U.S. Bank is raising its minimum wage to $15 
and is also giving $1,000 bonuses to 60,000 employees; 29,000 employees 
of Nationwide Insurance are also receiving bonuses, and 33,000 are 
getting an increase in their retirement match. These are just a few of 
the 100-plus companies that have already announced new benefits for 
American workers as a direct result of tax reform. These are only the 
immediate benefits.
  Mainstream economists agree that in the months and years to come, the 
permanent changes we made in the way we tax businesses will make our 
economy more vibrant and more competitive. That means greater 
investment and higher wages for American workers. Of course, all this 
is in addition to the direct effects the tax cuts themselves will soon 
have on family budgets.
  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will reduce income tax rates and 
significantly expand key deductions. We took money out of Washington 
and put it right back in the pockets of middle-class Americans. 
Starting as early as February, the IRS will withhold less from 
paychecks, and workers will get to deposit more of their hard-earned 
money right into their own bank accounts. In 2018 alone, for a typical 
family of four earning just over 70,000, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 
could mean a tax savings of more than $2,000.
  Nearly every day, reports come out about a new way this historic tax 
reform bill is helping Americans. Here is a subject that is 
particularly relevant around many kitchen tables this winter: utility 
bills. All around the country, utility companies that will benefit from 
our new tax cuts are already discussing plans to pass their savings on 
to customers.

[[Page S114]]

  Major power companies in Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts are 
already proposing plans to give their customers tens of millions of 
dollars in relief by lowering the rates they charge for energy. And get 
this: According to CNBC, a South Carolina electric and gas utility is 
planning to give a cash payment directly to its customers, averaging 
$1,000 per household. More are following suit. In Montana, Louisiana, 
and Indiana, regulators are already working with utilities to determine 
how households will benefit from the tax savings. In my own State of 
Kentucky, the Public Service Commission directed a number of the 
electric, gas, and water companies to track their savings and make 
plans to cut rates for consumers.
  As any mother or father who has to balance a checkbook and pay bills 
every month can attest, this is welcome news for middle-class families. 
These reductions will be especially helpful to the most vulnerable in 
our society.
  According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, 
energy costs eat up a significantly higher percentage of household 
income for poor families than for other families. In other words, for a 
software engineer in Silicon Valley, a lower heating or air 
conditioning bill may go unnoticed, but for workers who clean that 
office overnight, this relief will make a real difference.
  A drop in utility bills effectively amounts to progressive tax 
relief. This is just another example of how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 
is rapidly proving to be a serious asset to poor and middle-class 
families--precisely the people whom my Democratic friends in the House 
and Senate loudly claimed would get nothing at all from this bill.
  It has been 3 weeks--3 weeks--lower utility bills, 1 million special 
tax reform bonuses and pay raises, and this is only the beginning.
  A Republican majority in the House and a Republican majority in the 
Senate and President Trump listened to the facts instead of the 
political spin. I am proud that we passed this historic bill and gave 
families across America the tax relief they have waited decades to 
receive.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cotton). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.